


Cold

by RubyRemusLupin



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Angst, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I hate that Lacey told off Ruby and the two get no screen time together since., Please Kill Me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:47:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28492614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RubyRemusLupin/pseuds/RubyRemusLupin
Summary: A Once Upon a Time Ruby x Lacey one-shot that I needed.
Relationships: Lacey/Red Riding Hood | Ruby
Comments: 3
Kudos: 9





	Cold

Ruby walked down 1st Street, towards the bar. It was dark, but Ruby needed a drink. She was lonely, with Snow wrapped up in everything, and her only other friend having amnesia and fake memories. As she approached the Rabbit Hole, Ruby heard crying, and looked up from her feet to find someone sitting on the curb about ten feet away. She walked over to the person and stood behind them. It was a girl with brown hair. She was wearing a tight T-shirt and a short skirt. Her legs and arms were covered in bruises.  
The girl had noticed Ruby was there, but didn't seem to care too much and continued to cry. Ruby bent down and sat next to her on the curb. She stroked the girls arm gently in concern, and the girl flinched. "Go away." When the girl spoke, Ruby immediately realized who she was. Belle. Ruby's concern increased, and she put her arm around the crying girl.  
Belle- No, Lacey, tried to pull away from the wolf, and Ruby let her. Lacey had probably had enough of people holding her in place. Ruby's eyes widened at the thought of some guy grabbing Lacey and hurting her. The wolf stroked her former best friends hair and gently rested her hand on the girl's knee.  
“Why are you here?!” Lacey faced her and glared. There were tears rolling down her face, and she had a black eye. “Why do you care about me?! I’m not Belle!” She shook Ruby's hand off hers and stuffed her face back into her arms.  
Ruby leaned close and brushed Lacey's hair behind her hair. “I know you're not Belle. But you look like her, as different as you are from her. I can’t stand to see her in pain. Therefore, the same goes for you.” Lacey looked up and gave Ruby a questioning look. 

“I want to know you,” Ruby continued, and looked into Lacey’s eyes. “I want to be your friend. I know you’re not her, but she might not ever come back. I want to know you.”

Lacey looked at her hands. Then she leaned on Ruby and put her head on the wolf's shoulder. Ruby smiled slightly, and a single tear fell from her chin onto Lacey’s cheek. “Come with me,” Ruby said, and Lacey nodded and gripped Ruby’s hand.

They stood and Ruby gently led Lacey to her apartment. She got the guest room situated and gave Lacey a change of clothes. 

~

Ruby lay in bed wide awake, staring at the ceiling. She wasn’t supposed to feel this way about Lacey. She shouldn’t even feel like this towards Belle. She cared more than she should. 

It was cold. Ruby lay freezing, wishing she had fixed the heat like Granny had asked her to. Though Ruby didn’t know it, Lacey also lay awake, thinking. Lacey was lonely, Gold wasn’t enough. She went with Ruby, came home with her. Ruby was warm. Gold was cold. Colder than the room she was in. The temperature would have been okay, but Lacey's gripping loneliness and hurt flooded her and made her feel freezing.

She got out of bed, walked quietly into the hall and stared at Ruby's cracked door. The werewolf had turned on her side and was closing her eyes tightly, a failing attempt at sleep. Lacey gently pushed open the door and walked over to the bed.

Ruby heard noise but assumed it was her imagination and mentally reprimanded herself, then closed her eyes tighter. Lacey crawled into the bed and pulled herself close to Ruby, wrapping her arm around the wolf. Ruby opened her eyes, looking a bit shocked.

She didn’t need to ask why Lacey was there. Words weren’t enough. But she understood. Ruby pulled Lacey closer. They understood each other. They both didn’t quite know what love was. They both had tried to make up for that. 

Ruby started to cry into Lacey’s hair. In return, Lacey wrapped her leg over Ruby’s, holding her close, then let tears slowly fall from her own eyes. They were both cold. Ruby, forgotten, neglected, and alone, and Lacey, confused and angry. 

Cold. Freezing. Cold. Warm. Close.

As they held each other close in comforting silence, their jumbled and hurt thoughts melted away into sleep. They thawed. After all, as said by Frozen, love thaws all.


End file.
